light cream cheese chicken enchiladas ... with a kick

El Pato returns!

I had an extra can of El Pato salsa de chile fresco left over from a previous recipe (black bean and chicken chilaquiles), and I've been looking for an opportunity to use it.

I'd never heard of El Pato before making the chilaquiles a few weeks ago, so I was pleasantly surprised by its unique and spicy taste. I also thought it would make a perfect enchilada sauce. And it did!

Ingredients
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, diced/cubed (I poached the chicken breast)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded, reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 cup tomato-based picante sauce (I used a medium-heat, fire-roasted tomato)
4 oz low-fat cream cheese
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
1/2 can El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco
fat-free sour cream, to garnish (optional)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350° F.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat until hot. Add onion, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, picante sauce, cream cheese, and cumin. Cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring constantly.

Place about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla and roll up. Place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon the El Pato evenly over top of tortillas; sprinkle remaining cup of cheddar cheese on top.

Cover and bake at 350° F for 15 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Serve topped with a generous dollop of sour cream.

cheese tortellini with lime butter scallops

Couldn't be simpler.

Seafood, fresh herbs, and pasta. Oh, and cheese. Of course, cheese. And I sipped a crisp, cold New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc while cooking (and eating) -- perfect.

8 - 10 large sea scallops
package of cheese tortellini
1 can Italian-styled diced tomatoes
1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
1 cup fat-free half and half
1 medium yellow onion
3 large cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
juice of half a lime
zest of a lime
[about] 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
[about] 3 teaspoons salt

Put a large pot of water on to boil, in preparation for tortellini.

Zest and squeeze a lime. Set aside.

Finely chop onion and garlic. Add half of each to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute in medium pan until softened. Add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Continue to cook for another minute. Add tomatoes. Turn heat down to a simmer. Add ricotta cheese, half and half and fresh basil. Continue to heat at very low simmer.

Thoroughly pat scallops dry with paper towels. Season each with salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Sear in very hot preheated pan, two minutes per side.

While scallops cook, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small pan, and add remaining onion and garlic. Cook until softened. Add 3/4 teaspoon of lime zest and a pinch of salt. Squeeze in juice from half a lime and add a dash of cayenne pepper. Heat through.

Add scallops to lime sauce.

Cook tortellini for five minutes.

Dish tortellini into bowls and top with tomato sauce and scallops. Spoon lime sauce over scallops.

Garnish with curls of Parmigiano Reggiano, a lime wedge, and fresh basil.

caramelized onion lasagna with gorgonzola & spinach

Serves 9

ingredients

8 ounces lasagna noodles (I use no-boil noodles)

caramelized onion filling

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 large sweet onions, thinly sliced (about 10 cups)
• 4 large portobello mushroom caps, gills removed (use a spoon to scrape out), diced
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 teaspoon salt

  

• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

spinach & cheese filling

• 4 cups baby spinach (1 bag)
  
• 3 cups nonfat ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
  

  

white sauce & topping

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

preparation

1. To prepare onion filling: Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and very soft, about 30-40 minutes (If they begin to stick, add water 1/4 cup at a time to release them and prevent burning). Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms just begin to soften (about 3 minutes). Add wine and 1 teaspoon salt and continue cooking until most of the liquid is absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pepper.
2. To prepare spinach filling: Place spinach, ricotta, basil, Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor; process until smooth.
3. To prepare white sauce: Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir until bubbling, about 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in milk and 1 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking, until the sauce has the consistency of thick gravy, about 1 minute. Add Gorgonzola and gently whisk until melted. Remove from the heat (sauce will continue to thicken as it sits).
4. To assemble lasagna: Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
5. Spread 1/2 cup white sauce in the prepared pan. Place a layer of noodles over the sauce. Spread half of the spinach filling over the noodles and top with one-third of the onion filling. Evenly spread 1/2 cup white sauce and 1/2 cup of mozzarella over the onions. Repeat with another layer of noodles, the remaining spinach filling, half the remaining onion filling, half the remaining white sauce and 1/2 cup of mozzarella. To finish, top with a third layer of noodles, spread the remaining onion filling over the noodles and then spread or dollop the remaining white sauce on top, and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
6. Bake until hot and bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving and sprinkle with fresh basil (optional).
   

texas tea

A gift from home!

My sister, Christine, recently made a quick trip to San Antonio to visit a dear friend with a new baby (welcome to the world, Baby Ella!).

While she was there, she stopped at one of my favorite stores, Melissa Guerra at the Old Pearl Brewery, and picked me up a Texas trinket -- a bright and fabulous tea towel from Catstudio.

I love it ... so much so that I might try and find a funky vintage frame for it!

It's so great to receive unexpected goodies in a box. :)

spring cleaning

I don't know why it's taken me so long to do this, but I'm clearing out the clutter in my cyber-life ... specifically, my email.

I'm very good at keeping my inbox empty and folders organized. Having a bunch of pending or unread emails would seriously drive my type-A personality mad. I'm also diligent about marking unwanted spam as 'Junk'; however, for some reason, I've managed to allow myself to be the perpetual recipient of hundreds of unwanted newsletters and reminders.

It's not necessarily junk, just continuous correspondence with companies or organizations that I've come across or interacted with in the past, but no longer do. I've gotten so used to seeing their emails regular appear in my inbox, that I just delete without even thinking about it.

No, I really don't care to see 'Which Classmates have updated their Profiles' ... or what Jones New York has on sale this week (I ordered one shirt from Jones New York maybe 3 years ago?). Again, it's legitimate mail that I probably, at one time or another, was interested in. But now? Not so much.

So for the next several weeks/months, I'm going to spend an extra 45 seconds or so clicking through the 'unsubscribe' link and make a concerted effort to remove myself from the gajillion mailing lists on which I've found myself.

I'm feeling less-cluttered already.

lobster ravioli in butter, garlic and olive oil

Very quick, very easy, very yummy dinner.

• 27-ounce package of lobster ricotta ravioli (I use the Pasta Prima Gourmet from Sam's Club)
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 6-8 basil leaves, chiffonade
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• Parmigiano Reggiano, to garnish

Gently boil ravioli (about 4 minutes).

In a medium pan, sauté onion and garlic in butter and olive oil until both begin to soften and turn translucent; add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Place cooked ravioli in large pasta bowl and spoon onion and garlic sauce over it; sprinkle with fresh basil and curls of Parmigiano Reggiano.

tomato basil shrimp capellini with warm goat cheese rounds and pan seared scallops

Every aspect of this dish could stand on its own -- it's so, so good. Ideally, if possible, prepare the goat cheese rounds a few hours, or up to a day ahead of time and refrigerate.

Yields 4 servings (serving size: about 2 cups pasta mixture and 1 goat cheese round)

Ingredients

• 2 cups Italian style bread crumbs
  
• 1 (4-ounce) package log-shaped goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 1 shallot
  
• 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 cups chopped seeded Roma/plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 cup dry white wine
  
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 8 sea scallops
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon course black pepper
  
• 1 box cooked capellini (I use Barilla Plus angel hair)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
• non-stick cooking spray
  
• basil sprigs (optional)
• shavings/curls parmigiano reggiano

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cook pasta according to directions.

Slice goat cheese into 4 round patties, crosswise. Lightly coat with non-stick cooking spray (I used butter-flavored) and press both sides of each round into breadcrumbs. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet; chill.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and half the minced garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in tomato, water, and red pepper flakes; cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp, salt and black pepper; cook until shrimp are done. Remove from heat. Cover; keep warm.

Bake cheese rounds at 400° for 10 minutes or until soft but still holding their shape.

In the meantime, sauté remaining garlic (about 4 cloves) and chopped shallot in 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook until both begin to soften, then add one cup of white wine and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Heat cast iron pan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes; thoroughly pat scallops dry with paper towels, add salt and pepper to season, then place in hot pan. Sear scallops for approximately 2 minutes per side. Pour garlic and wine mixture over the top of scallops and sprinkle with fresh basil.

Add pasta and 1/2 cup basil to tomato mixture; toss to combine. Divide pasta mixture evenly among 4 bowls; top each serving with 1 goat cheese round and 2 scallops. Garnish with basil sprigs, if desired, and curls of fresh parmigiano reggiano.

petits pieds

easy-schmeasy red beans and rice

Another "light" version of a fatty classic.

Ingredients
2 cups Texmati white rice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pkg (14 oz) turkey sausage
2 cans red beans
Zatarain's Creole seasoning
cayenne pepper
cold beer

Directions
Cook rice; set aside

Thinly-slice the sausage. Add olive oil to large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, and generously sprinkle with Creole seasoning and cayenne pepper (to taste). Stir frequently for about 5-7 minutes, until the sausages begin to brown on both sides.

Strain liquid from the red beans and add to the sausage. Cook until warmed through.

Serve over rice. Enjoy with a cold beer.

gumbo, y’all

It’s that time of year when the best of New Orleans seeps into my inner Cajun.

Next project – Commander’s Palace bread pudding soufflé with whiskey sauce (um, yeah right).

In this gumbo recipe I used skinless turkey sausage to help lighten up the goodness a bit.

Chicken, Turkey Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
1 medium sized onion, chopped
2 cans (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz.) beef broth
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 lb. turkey sausage, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1/2 cup loosely packed parsley leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons Zatarain’s Creole Seasoning (I sprinkled more in, to taste)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 lb. medium shrimp, shelled & deveined
1 cup long grain rice, cooked as directed on the package

Directions:

In a large soup pot, heat oil over med-low heat. Gradually stir in flour, and cook, stirring, until mixture is dark brown ~ about 15 minutes.

Mix the broth in slowly and blend until smooth.

At the same time you start the roux start to cook the vegetables: In a non-stick skillet, over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat until hot.

Add celery, garlic, green pepper, and onion and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

To the roux-thickened broth add the stewed tomatoes, chicken, sausage, herbs, Creole seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper and the vegetables.

Add 4 cups of dark beer or water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 40 minutes. Skim off any fat that comes to the surface.

Add the shrimp and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until the shrimp turn opaque.

Serve over rice.

Laissez les bon temps roulez!

skinny bagel widda shmeer, side of heat

Who doesn’t love a big, crusty NYC deli-style bagel, served with cream cheese, lox and capers? Oy. I’m getting all ver clempt just thinking about it.

Unfortunately, not only is a loaded bagel unkind to one’s daily calorie count, it can be tough to find unless you live or work near a good Kosher deli.

As an alternative, one of my favorite, long-time breakfast routines is noshing on an “everything” bagel (poppy & sesame seeds and garlic), topped with a spicy substitute to capers – jalapeños. Add the cool smoothness of the cream cheese and a cup of hot coffee, and you have the perfect medley of morning flavors and textures.

A great way to eat this in guilt-free fashion is to use thin bagels. My favorite is a lightly-toasted “everything” Thomas 100-calorie bagel. And using low-fat (not the insipidly sweet fat-free version) cream cheese -– a tablespoon per slice – also helps keep things respectable. The grand total is only about 160 measly calories.

It sure ain’t the Carnegie Deli in Midtown, but it’ll certainly scratch a bagel itch when the craving hits you.

a free, Sovereign, and independent republic

The Texas Declaration of Independence (March 2, 1836)

“The Texas Declaration of Independence was produced, literally, overnight. Its urgency was paramount, because while it was being prepared, the Alamo in San Antonio was under siege by Santa Anna's army of Mexico.

Immediately upon the assemblage of the Convention of 1836 on March 1, a committee of five of its delegates were appointed to draft the document. The committee, consisting of George C. Childress, Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney, prepared the declaration in record time. It was briefly reviewed, then adopted by the delegates of the convention the following day.

…the document parallels somewhat that of the United States, signed almost sixty years earlier. It contains statements on the function and responsibility of government, followed by a list of grievances. Finally, it concludes by declaring Texas a free and independent republic.” – Lone Star Junction

Happy 175th birthday, Texas.

black bean and chicken chilaquiles

It’s no secret that up here in the land of lobster and chowder, I miss Tex-Mex food. A lot.

I’m perpetually on the look-out for opportunities to indulge in some spicy goodness, whether it be out at a restaurant, or home in La Cocina de Farrell.

Tonight I made chilaquiles that fall into the Tex-Mex slot, and are definitely worth a repeat performance. Traditionally a Mexican breakfast favorite, chilaquiles is a sauté of day-old tortilla strips, fresh tomato sauce, cream, and cheese. My version however, was dinner. And I lightened things up in the calorie and fat department.

The recipe, as is, is a great base, but needs some added freshness to suit my taste. Next time, I’m tweaking things a bit. A squeeze of some fresh lime juice on top would be perfect. Topping individual servings with wedges of avocado and chopped tomato would definitely be another tasty, fresh (and bright) addition. And cilantro is a must – throughout the actual dish, as well as for garnish on top.

One more tip: make sure to use the El Pato salsa de fresco. If you can’t find it at one grocery store, keep looking. It makes the recipe.

But for a first-time try, this was a winner. And the fact that it’s a tremendously light dish makes it that much more delicioso. At under 300 calories per serving, you can't beat it ... for breakfast or dinner!

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (I poached mine in chicken broth, then shredded with a fork then seasoned with chile powder, cumin, and garlic powder)
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 7 3/4-ounce can salsa de chile fresco (such as El Pato)
• 15 6-inch corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch strips
• 2 cups shredded queso blanco (about 4 ounces); substitute Monterrey Jack, if needed
• fat-free or light sour cream (for garnish)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add chicken; cook 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; stir in beans. Add broth and salsa to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Place half of tortilla strips in bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer half of chicken mixture and half of cheese over tortillas; top with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture. Pour broth mixture evenly over chicken mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until tortillas are lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Serve with a generous dollop of [fat-free or light] sour cream.

{ yee haw }

Rodeo cupcakes from Crave.

Adorable.